Colleges

Michigan AD Dave Brandon has "heard the perception that he runs the football program and doesn’t pay that any mind," according to Mark Snyder of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Many claim that UM's recent firing of offensive coordinator Al Borges "was his doing," but Brandon yesterday "refuted that emphatically." He said, "I have no idea where that comes from. Not angered by it, just confused how you could draw that conclusion. I’m not a football coach, I don’t have experience as a football coach, I’ve never run a football program and so how that conclusion was reached by anybody was beyond me.” He added, "You can ask anybody who has worked for me for the last 25 years, leaders get to pick their teams." Brandon: "When fans don't win, they're not happy. ... Everybody's frustrated and disappointed in their own way. I'm not sure everybody's angry. It's not like we've never had years before [where] we're disappointed." Brandon also said that there are "no current plans to expand Michigan Stadium." There will be a "night game this fall but it has not been determined yet as television networks are involved in that decision." Brandon also "shared an interesting number from the recently-completed Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium: 75,000 cups of beer sold that day for a total bill of around $650,000." The next item on Brandon's list is to "see what type of big event U-M can pull off utilizing the stadium" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/21).